Every week a new recipe from Silverlake cook and Master Food Preserver, Shelley Marks. After Shelley's recipe, check out the list of what's in your CSA box this week. When Tara can sit still and focus on blogging, she'll write about what's going on at Silver Lake Farms.

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Friday, January 21, 2011

Silver Lake Farms CSA Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is a delicious and nutritious grain with a slightly nutty flavor. By itself, it's a great side dish. However, you can toss it with all kinds of vegetables to make fabulous salads. This week's CSA box has just what you need to make a super tasty quinoa salad.

Start with 4-5 C of cooked quinoa, fluffed and cooled. Cook the quinoa according to the directions of the package. Like rice, quinoa approximately doubles in size when cooked.

You can add these ingredients raw to the quinoa, but I like to cook them briefly, both to soften them and to bring out their flavors. To cook: Heat 1 T olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion first, cook for 1 minute. Then add the remaining ingredients. Stir to coat them with the oil. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper, if desired. Then cover and cook until they reach the desired softness, about 1-2 minutes.

Add the vegetables to the quinoa and stir to combine. Then make the dressing:

Whisk all the dressing ingredients briskly until well-combined. You should have about 1 C of dressing. Pour as much dressing as desired over the quinoa and toss to coat. Unused dressing will keep in the refrigerator for a few days. I like to add mashed roasted shallot (or garlic) to this dressing. It deepens the flavor of the dressing. Sometimes, I add a pinch of sugar or 1/4 t agave syrup to cut the sharpness.